


Auld Lang Syne.

by TayBartlett9000



Category: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Genre: For Old Time's Sake, Friendship, Hope, Looking to the Future, Love, M/M, New Year, Robert Burns song, Song - Freeform, belonging and companionship, rememberence, tradition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 21:55:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9143728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TayBartlett9000/pseuds/TayBartlett9000
Summary: It is New Year's eve, and  Arthur allows Ford to join him in an ancient traditional New Year's activity.





	

Auld Lang Syne.

By Tay Bartlett.

 

The time was fast approaching midnight. The sky was heavy with the threat of snow as 12 A.M. drew ever closer.

Ford Prefect and Arthur Dent sat side by side on the dilapidated sofa in Ford’s flat, each looking in different directions. A smile lingered on both of their faces as each pondered his own thoughts.  

Arthur’s eyes were fixed firmly on the television, whos screen showed endless adverts from some shopping   channel or other. The sound was muted, and Arthur only had the images of the brash young man and woman on the screen to go by. The individual on the left   hand side of the screen was holding up some sort of gold necklace, and Arthur didn’t need the sound to tell him that she was proclaiming this item’s worth in as loud and as flattering a voice as she could. A wry smile crept onto his face as he watched the two people at work, forced grins on their faces as they did so.

Ford Prefect was gazing dreamily out of the window, aware of very little save the body of Arthur Dent sitting at his side.  The Betelgeusean had rarely been so happy. He did of course have many memories of happiness, but Ford had never before experienced a holiday like this one. The warm    recollections of this wonderful time flitted through his mind and forced a bright smile onto his own face. He couldn’t remember ever smiling in that way before. Only Arthur seemed to be able to bring this reaction out of him.

“This stuff is so contrite,” Arthur moaned, leaning against Ford and pointing at the forceably festive scene being played out on the TV before them. He stood, reaching down to take Ford Prefect’s hand. “Fancy coming out for a walk?  It’ll be New Year’s Day soon. We could see the old year out with the bells and such like.”

Ford nodded happily, rising and taking Arthur’s hand in his own.  He had no idea why the people of Earth had a fascination with celebrating the end of a year. After all, it wasn’t as if there would be a shortage of them. Ford had it on reasonably good authority – namely the authority from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy that the universe was not due to end for at least fourteen billion years. But he would do anything to please Arthur and so he followed him out of the door and into the cold night air.

The blustery Winter Wind tugged at Ford’s hair and fluttered softly against his cheeks as he and Arthur made their way slowly down the streets. All around them, people were wandering aimlessly up and down the roads in varying degrees of inebriation. As Ford walked by Arthur’s side, he thought that he could hear snatches of an old song that he was sure he had heard before. Ford had never really been much interested in the music of Earth, but even he had to admit that the deep slow resinance of the chords sounded eerily beautiful in the night breeze.

“What is that?” Ford asked, turning to Arthur with an expression of puzzlement.

Arthur smiled at his Betelgeusean friend, glad to be able to give Ford some relevant information. “It’s Auld Lang Syne,” he said quietly, pausing for a moment to listen to the small knot of people standing off to his left. “It’s an old song from 1788. It was written by a Scotsman called Robert Burns. It’s a song about remembering the events of the previous year and preserving old friendships. It’s a lovely song.”

“What does auld lang syne mean?” the Betelgeusean asked.

“For old times’ sake,” Arthur replied.

 The slow ballad drifted through the air and Arthur   lent his own voice to the rousing   chorus, drawing a look of surprised wonder from Ford Prefect.

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and days of auld lang syne?”

Ford listened to Arthur Dent singing, realising that Arthur had rarely seemed so happy in his life. Ford smiled as he watched his friend joining in with the New Year celebrations, glad to be a part of this strange Earth tradition.

As the hour struck twelve, the bells rang out, echoing through the silent streets and bringing the people around them to a standstill. Ford and Arthur listened for a moment to the rapturous and joyous peeling of the bells, before the crowd around them lifted their voices once more.

“Would you like to join in?” Arthur asked gently, pulling Ford closer to him.

Ford nodded and allowed Arthur to lead him into the centre of the crowd. They were standing in a circle, each holding hands. Arthur took the hand of a lady next to him and held Ford’s hand with the other. Following Arthur’s lead, Ford took the hand on his other side, completing the circle. Ford knew that neither he nor Arthur knew any of the people standing in the circle with them, but he knew also that none of this mattered. He guessed rightly that songs of this nature gave the people of Earth a sense of belonging and companionship, and he smiled as he felt Arthur’s hand squeezing his own.  

Ford surrendered his emotions to the night, taking Arthur’s hand once more to sing with him. The words sounded pleasant to his ears as he followed Arthur’s lead and took up the song.

“Should auld acquaintance be forgot? And never brought to mind?  Should auld acquaintance be forgot? And days of auld lang syne? Days of auld lang syne, my dear, from days of auld lang syne?  Should auld acquaintance be forgot? And days of auld lang syne.”


End file.
